The process was not hijacked, ECZ defends selection process of poll staff
The process was not hijacked, ECZ defends selection process of poll staff
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia—ECZ has moved to reassure anxious applicants after thousands raised concerns that the recruitment process of poll staff ahead of Thursday’s polls, was hijacked.
The commission insists that a committee, not any individual, was in charge of selections.
The reassurance follows after stakeholders raised concerns as to why the list of successful candidates was pulled down a few hours after being released.
Some stakeholders alleged, during the briefing of organizations involved in the monitoring and observing of the 2026 general elections held in Ndola yesterday that, the list was pulled down to have eligible candidates replaced with those that did not apply or take part in the recruitment process.
In response, Ndola District Electoral Officer George Mulenga said the delays in rolling out training is due to the overwhelming response of applications that the district received.
“Ndola District received 7, 590 applications for the advertised positions, against the 2, 226 that was required, forcing a more cautious approach,” Mulenga said.
He stated that no part of the recruitment process was hijacked by any individual.
Mulenga, however, admitted that the commission deliberately held back on commencing training after reports emerged of fraudsters exploiting desperate job seekers on social media
“We pulled down the list of successful candidates because we were alerted that some people were calling individuals whose NRCs were posted on social media, trying to scam them,” he explained.
He said this prompted the commission to pause and review internal controls to protect the integrity of the recruitment.
Mulenga added that the process was transparent and followed the required recruitment procedure.
-TV Yatu | Sanfrossa Mberi | August 11, 2026.